Teams and tendered players do not exchange salary figures for arbitration until January, and most players agree to contracts long before the possible occurrence of a February hearing.

In 86 2/3 innings that included four starts and 31 relief appearances, Worley pitched to a 3.53 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP, 5.8 strikeouts per nine innings, and 3.6 walks per nine frames. Having pitched just one season in Baltimore, Worley was projected to make $3.3 million in 2017, which is pricey for a long reliever.

The Orioles could try to re-sign Worley at a cheaper rate, but they would prefer to turn to a younger — and cheaper — option such as Tyler Wilson or Mike Wright to fill his role in the bullpen. They also acquired former Rule 5 pick and right-handed pitcher Logan Verrett from the New York Mets for cash considerations earlier this week.

Earlier on Friday, Baltimore claimed outfielder Adam Walker off waivers from Minnesota. The 25-year-old hit 27 home runs and struck out 202 times playing for Triple-A Rochester and has yet to play in the majors in his professional career.

With Worley’s departure and Walker’s addition, the Orioles now have 36 players on their 40-man roster.

Who stood out in the Orioles’ 11-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon?

In the spirit of hockey’s “three stars” system with the addition of home plate for honorable mentions and other notes, we go around the bases after the 68th game of the 2016 season.

1st — Matt Wieters set the tone for Baltimore’s season-high 19-hit game with a long two-run home run into the bleachers off Toronto starter Marcus Stroman in the first inning and matched his career high with four hits on the afternoon. The veteran catcher drove in a season-high four runs and scored three times while finishing just a triple short of the cycle. Three of Wieters’ seven homers on the season have come against Toronto with two of those against Stroman.

2nd — Jonathan Schoop homered for the second straight day, this time hitting a 458-foot bomb that nearly landed in the left-field club level in the bottom of the seventh. The second baseman’s RBI single in the fourth gave the Orioles the lead for good and put Chris Tillman in position to pick up his 10th win of the season despite a rocky five-inning performance. Schoop went 3-for-5 on the day.

3rd — Ryan Flaherty filled in at third base for the first game of the Manny Machado suspension and answered the Blue Jays’ four-run second inning with an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4. The utility infielder added an RBI double in the fourth to push Baltimore’s lead to 6-4 and also made a couple nice plays in the field.

Home — Brad Brach entered with two outs in the seventh to face Josh Donaldson as the potential tying run and struck out the 2015 American League MVP. The right-handed reliever pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three and walking one. … Tillman extended his career-best winning streak to nine games and is now 9-0 with a 2.78 ERA over his last 11 starts. The right-hander surpassed Dick Hall to move into sole possession of 13th place on the Orioles’ all-time wins list with 66. … Chris Davis collected two doubles, scored three times, and drove in a run in a three-hit performance. … Hyun Soo Kim went 3-for-5 for his 10th multi-hit game of the season. … Every Orioles starter in Sunday’s game had a hit except for shortstop J.J. Hardy, who was robbed of a potential home run in the bottom of the seventh. … The Orioles completed a 10-game stretch against AL East foes Toronto and Boston with a 5-5 record. … According to STATS, Baltimore will now have its first one-game road trip sandwiched between home games since June 25, 1967. Kevin Gausman will take the hill while Texas will start left-hander Derek Holland on Monday night.

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BALTIMORE — Needing to create roster room to activate both starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo and shortstop J.J. Hardy from the disabled list on Saturday, the Orioles optioned two pitchers to Triple-A Norfolk.

After struggling starting pitcher Mike Wright was optioned to Norfolk late Friday night, Baltimore sent down left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland, who pitched two scoreless innings and threw 25 pitches in the 13-3 loss to Toronto. The move leaves the Orioles with a seven-man bullpen after Ubaldo Jimenez was demoted to a relief role earlier in the week.

With Manny Machado’s four-game suspension about to begin, manager Buck Showalter prefers keeping both Ryan Flaherty and Paul Janish on the roster — Baltimore will play with 24 players while Machado is out — but the state of the bullpen will go a long way in determining how feasible that is. The Blue Jays entered Saturday having scored 10 or more runs in five of their last seven games with three of those contests coming against the Orioles.

With Wright demoted and now set to start for the Tides, the Orioles will need a starter for Wednesday’s game against San Diego. Odrisamer Despaigne and Jimenez would appear to be the in-house candidates to take the ball on that day, but their usage over the next few days will be a major factor. The struggling Jimenez clearly wouldn’t be received as a popular option as he threw 62 pitches and allowed five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings on Friday to raise his season ERA to 7.34.

The Orioles entered Saturday with a 4.93 starter ERA, ranking 13th out of 15 American League clubs.

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As a key member of the Orioles concluded a minor-league rehab assignment, another is about to begin his.

With starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo performing well in his third and final rehab start on Monday, shortstop J.J. Hardy will begin playing for Double-A Bowie on Tuesday as he moves closer to a return from a fractured left foot suffered on May 1. Gallardo could be activated from the 15-day disabled list to make Saturday’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays while it remains unclear how long Hardy’s assignment will last.

Pitching for Triple-A Norfolk against Charlotte on Monday, Gallardo turned in a strong five-inning performance in which he allowed just one run on one hit while striking out five and issuing two walks. The lone run he allowed came on a leadoff homer before he settled in to throw 90 pitches.

Showing better velocity than he did early in the season when he posted a 7.00 ERA in four starts before going on the DL with right shoulder tendinitis, Gallardo will be asked to help stabilize a starting rotation that’s struggled mightily in recent weeks. It remains unclear whose rotation spot Gallardo will take, but veteran Ubaldo Jimenez owns a grotesque 6.89 ERA and both Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson have minor-league options and have also struggled.

Meanwhile, the Orioles are eager to welcome back Hardy to help solidify the left side of their infield. Gold Glove third baseman Manny Machado has played very well shifting to shortstop, but Baltimore has had problems at the hot corner with Ryan Flaherty and Paul Janish offering substandard offense and Pedro Alvarez providing subpar defense when asked to play there.

Ideally, the Orioles would like to have Hardy return before Machado begins serving his suspension stemming from last week’s brawl with Yordano Ventura and the Kansas City Royals. Machado’s four-game suspension is pending an appeal.

Who stood out in the Orioles’ 4-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night?

In the spirit of hockey’s “three stars” system with the addition of home plate for honorable mentions and other notes, we go around the bases after the 58th game of the 2016 season.

1st — Chris Tillman wasn’t sure when asked if he was carrying his best stuff of the season, but it looked like it as he pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings while allowing eight hits and matching a career high with nine strikeouts without walking a single batter. The right-hander commanded all of his pitches and was particularly good locating his fastball throughout the night. Not only did Tillman throw first-pitch strikes to 21 of the 29 hitters he faced, but he got an impressive 19 swinging strikes as a struggling Royals lineup struggled to make contact and hit the ball hard. Though he entered Wednesday’s game averaging 3.7 walks per game and can struggle with command from time to time, Tillman went to three-ball counts on just two hitters and threw just 29 balls out of his 110 pitches. Simply put, Tillman was exceptional in his longest start of the season.

2nd — Ryan Flaherty is known for his versatility in the field but not for his bat, making his recent contributions at the plate a pleasant development. With the bases loaded and the game scoreless in the fifth, Flaherty doubled to right off Edinson Volquez to score two, which would be all Baltimore needed to earn its first three-game sweep of the Royals since 2011. The third baseman has now hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, batting .308 with two doubles, a home run, seven runs, and seven RBIs. Flaherty also turned a terrific double play in the second, catching a Jarrod Dyson bunt in the air and immediately firing to second to double off Cheslor Cuthbert.

3rd — Brad Brach took over for Tillman with two men on and one out in the eighth and eventually escaped with the potential tying run at the plate after he had issued a two-out walk. The right-hander lowered his season ERA to a remarkable 0.84 by pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to close out the victory. The performance gave Brach his second save of the season as he now has 37 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings.

Home — Hyun Soo Kim knocked in the final run of the night with an RBI single and also collected the first stolen base of his major league career in the fifth. He is now hitting .372 on the season. … The Orioles improved to a season-best 12 games above .500 and finished a 7-3 homestand to increase their lead in the AL East to 1 1/2 games entering Thursday. … Losers of seven straight, the Royals scored just two runs over the three-game series at Camden Yards and have plated only four in their last six contests. … Though he struck out a season-worst four times, Mark Trumbo made his first start of the year at first base as Chris Davis missed his first game of 2016 with a couple physical issues, according to Buck Showalter. … The Orioles recorded their third shutout victory of the season. … Tyler Wilson will go to the hill to open a four-game set in Toronto while the Blue Jays will start right-hander Marcus Stroman on Thursday night.

Who stood out in the Orioles’ 13-9 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night?

In the spirit of hockey’s “three stars” system with the addition of home plate for honorable mentions and other notes, we go around the bases after the 51st game of the 2016 season.

1st — Matt Wieters led the offensive attack with three RBIs, which came on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an important two-run single in the seventh that provided the Orioles some much-needed separation in a back-and-forth game. The Baltimore catcher was also fortunate in the sixth when he hit a sure double-play ball that was booted by Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia, allowing the go-ahead run to score in an 8-8 game. Buck Showalter said that was the ultimate sign that things were going the Orioles’ way on a “Twilight Zone night” at Camden Yards.

2nd — Mark Trumbo provided the early lift the Orioles needed after Mike Wright had surrendered a leadoff home run to Mookie Betts by drilling a two-run single into right field with the bases loaded in the first. Considering the ugliness of the first two games of the series, the Orioles could hardly afford to fall behind big early and Trumbo capitalized on their first big scoring chance of the night and also walked twice on the evening. Momentum is often an overrated concept in baseball, but Baltimore hanging four runs on the board in the first inning set the tone for the offensive explosion.

3rd — Hyun Soo Kim has become an important part of the lineup over the last week and collected his second three-hit game in his last seven starts. In addition to his double to deep center and two singles, Kim also walked and scored twice to raise his on-base percentage to an impressive .469. Not only is the Korean outfielder playing more frequently, but he has served as a productive top-of-the-order option for the Orioles, something they’ve needed in recent weeks.

Home — Brad Brach provided one of the only pitching highlights from either team by tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings, entering the game when it was tied 8-8 in the sixth and lasting long enough to pick up his fifth win and lower his ERA to a microscopic 0.94. … The Orioles scored a season-high 13 runs and drew a 2016-best nine walks in Wednesday’s win. It was also the first time Baltimore had won a game in which the pitching staff allowed five homers since April 7, 2000 against Detroit. … Ryan Flaherty drove in two runs and has now recorded at least one RBI in three straight games to match a career high. … Chris Davis was the only Orioles starter not to collect a hit, but the first baseman walked four times to match a career high and scored three runs. … Pedro Alvarez registered three hits for the second time this season. … Wright surrendered a career-high four home runs in lasting just 2 2/3 innings, his shortest start of the season. … Betts became the first player in major league history to homer in both the first and second innings of consecutive games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. … Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts extended his career-high hitting streak to 25 games. … On Thursday night, the struggling Ubaldo Jimenez goes to the hill with the Orioles seeking a series split while Boston will hand the ball to right-hander Rick Porcello.

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Tuesday’s loss in Houston offered a glimpse at the major concern many had for the Orioles lineup in 2016.

Yes, the Orioles would hit home runs — their only scoring in the 3-2 defeat came on solo shots by Pedro Alvarez and Manny Machado — but the fear was that they’d strike out far too often, especially with the offseason additions of Mark Trumbo and Alvarez to an offense that finished third in the AL in strikeouts in 2015. On Tuesday, Baltimore did exactly that in striking out a season-high 19 times in the 13-inning defeat with 16 coming against the Astros bullpen over the final eight frames.

You wouldn’t know it watching the series opener at Minute Maid Park, but strikeouts really haven’t been the problem many anticipated so far this season. Even after the poor showing on Tuesday, the Orioles ranked a respectable eighth in the AL in strikeouts, a far cry from the predictions of them leading the league in both long balls and whiffs this season.

However, the last three games have brought concern with an unsettling total of 40 strikeouts. In fact, two of their three worst games of the season in the strikeout department took place on Tuesday (19) and Saturday (13).

Many of the strikeouts came at crucial times as Ryan Flaherty, Matt Wieters, and Joey Rickard each struck out with runners in scoring position to end innings. In the 12th, Adam Jones and Chris Davis whiffed against former teammate Scott Feldman with runners at first and second.

Unfortunately with the powerful Orioles lineup, you have to take the bad with the good. It’s easy to say no good can come from a strikeout, but plenty of bad can still take place from making contact such as hitting into a double play or having a lead runner thrown out on the bases, realities that make me less concerned than others over strikeouts — to a point.

It was unequivocally maddening for Orioles bats not be able to at least put the ball in play in a winnable game in which Chris Tillman pitched very well over seven innings and three of their top four relievers — Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, and Mychal Givens — combined to throw five shutout innings and 68 pitches.

You can only hope it’s more of an aberration than a sign of things to come.

Missing Hardy

Machado has filled in admirably at shortstop in place of the injured J.J. Hardy, but the Orioles have received nothing offensively at third base as Flaherty’s average fell to .189 after an 0-for-4 night.

Remembering Flaherty had hit a respectable .248 with a .713 on-base plus slugging percentage filling in for the injured Jonathan Schoop through July 4 of last year, I thought the utility infielder would provide some offense to help fill the void of Hardy, who isn’t exactly the same hitter he was a few years ago anyway. However, even with regular playing time, Flaherty has looked completely lost at the plate with a .491 OPS and a team-worst 31.7 percent strikeout rate entering Wednesday.

Since last year’s All-Star break, Flaherty has hit .156 with a .530 OPS in 178 plate appearances.

He has played good defense at third base, but it says a lot when fans are clamoring for the light-hitting Paul Janish to play over him.

Revisiting left field

Rickard continues to serve as the everyday left fielder and leadoff hitter despite a .683 OPS on the season and a .208 average since April 22.

Make no mistake, he’s been a nice find as a Rule 5 pick and shouldn’t be buried at the end of the bench, but why Nolan Reimold continues to receive so little playing time when he provides some on-base ability and power that could even be used in Rickard’s place at the top of the lineup is perplexing. I understand and agree that you’d rather not have Machado in the leadoff spot to better utilize his power, but a .309 on-base percentage from Rickard isn’t doing much to help the two-time All-Star selection hitting in the second spot, either.

It also speaks volumes that Hyun Soo Kim couldn’t draw a start against soft-tossing opposing starters Jered Weaver and Doug Fister over the last two games. He’s gone 2-for-14 in May with just four starts.

Even if you don’t buy the unfavorable defensive metrics for Rickard in the outfield, he isn’t so much better than Reimold in the outfield to justify him continuing to be in the lineup every day with his struggles at the plate. At the very least, manager Buck Showalter should strongly consider dropping Rickard in the order.

Bundy struggling

Plenty of fans continue to clamor for Dylan Bundy to start — especially with Ubaldo Jimenez’s intense struggles in May — but the young pitcher has allowed seven earned runs over his last 4 1/3 innings to raise his season ERA to 5.09.

The good news is that Bundy has stayed healthy, but the idea of him becoming a fixture in the rotation this season just isn’t feasible since he isn’t stretched out and isn’t really performing how a starter would need to. At the very least, you’d like to see him be able to consistently perform in some higher-leverage situations at some point this season.

The most disappointing aspect of his performance has been the inability to strike out batters as he’s fanned only nine in 17 2/3 innings. His average fastball has been 93.2 miles per hour, which isn’t bad but is hardly the kind of velocity that makes you salivate about his potential as a starter, either.

Tuesday night was a near-impossible spot for the young right-hander after he allowed a leadoff triple in the bottom of the 13th, but his performance hasn’t suggested he’s close to being ready to be a starter.

BALTIMORE — The original Orioles lineup written out by Buck Showalter did not have Manny Machado at shortstop in the series opener against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.

An afternoon conversation with the two-time Gold Glove third baseman, however, prompted the Baltimore manager to change his mind, shifting Machado to his natural shortstop position and moving recalled utility infielder Ryan Flaherty from short to third base. Showalter said earlier this season when Hardy was dealing with a calf issue that he slightly preferred the defensive alignment of Flaherty at third base with Machado at shortstop, but the Orioles will keep all options open with their three-time Gold Glove shortstop now expected to miss at least a month with a hairline fracture in his left foot.

Slick-fielding veteran shortstop Paul Janish remains a strong possibility to be promoted from Triple-A Norfolk in the near future, and Showalter reminded reporters that Pedro Alvarez has also started more than 500 games at the hot corner in his major league career. Of course, Alvarez at third base wouldn’t represent the optimal defensive alignment for a club that puts much emphasis in defense.

“There’s some other things that we could do,” said Showalter about his decision to move Machado to shortstop on Tuesday. “I’d keep in mind, too, that Pedro’s played a lot of third base. He’s actually played more third base than Manny has in the big leagues. There are some options there. I’d like to keep them all open; I’d also like to keep from moving guys around a lot.

“This is the way we’re going to go tonight.”

Drafted as a shortstop out of high school and having played all but two career minor-league games there before he was promoted to the majors in 2012, Machado was only making his ninth career major league start at short on Tuesday night. The Orioles know the 23-year-old can play elite defense at third base, but it remains to be seen just how good his defense would be at shortstop over the long haul.

The best defensive left side of the infield in Hardy’s absence would likely be Janish at shortstop with Machado staying at third, but the former has hit just .216 and posted a .574 on-base plus slugging percentage in parts of seven major league seasons, making him less than ideal for an everyday role. The Orioles would rather not weaken their defense at two positions, but Flaherty is a better third baseman than shortstop, which has facilitated the opportunity for Machado to play his natural position on occasion.

Perhaps the time is now to see how Machado’s incredible skill at third base translates to shortstop over an extended time as Showalter even noted that he’s seen better preparation than ever from the young superstar who was named American League Player of the Month for April.

“It’s just been so much more focused every day,” Showalter said. “You can tell by the look in his eye that he has a real passion for what he’s trying to accomplish for our team.”

Britton encouraged by ankle improvement

Closer Zach Briton was happy that a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed no structural damage to the left ankle he jammed on Saturday, and he hopes to return at some point during the Yankees series.

The lefty reliever played catch on Tuesday afternoon to better gauge how close he was to being 100 percent from a pitching standpoint. Britton told reporters that all pain is virtually gone when he walks after he was on crutches just a couple days earlier.

“I feel a lot better. The flexibility and range of motion is back,” Britton said. “It’s just swollen. It’s got some bruising, but as long as I can manage the pain. That’s going to be the biggest issue right now. Does it hurt me doing baseball things — covering first, having to field the bunt, or what not? Those are things that I’m going to have to test out.”

Gallardo update

It remains unclear when starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo (right shoulder tendinitis) will resume throwing, but Showalter is hoping they’ll see a better pitcher than the one who posted a 7.00 ERA in 18 innings last month.

“I’m very optimistic about the return we’re going to get on some of the things that he’s doing,” Showalter said. “Hopefully, he’s moving towards throwing here before too long.”

The 30-year-old was sent to the 15-day disabled list with an arm-related ailment for the first time in his career on April 23.

Harvey sidelined again

Showalter confirmed that top pitching prospect Hunter Harvey underwent sports hernia surgery on Tuesday, the latest challenge in a career that’s been derailed by various injuries since July 2014.

However, the Orioles aren’t as concerned with the current ailment since it has nothing to do with the elbow issues he experienced in each of the previous two seasons.

“If he pitches from June, July on and finishes up strong like we think he can, I think he’s OK,” Showalter said. “But we’d really like to see him get the ball every fifth day at some point there and kind of get some of that experience he needs to finish off some things [with his development].”

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Orioles manager Buck Showalter’s fears were realized Monday as shortstop J.J. Hardy will be sidelined with a hairline fracture in his left foot.

According to MASN, Hardy is expected to miss six to eight weeks after fouling a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning of Sunday’s loss to the Chicago White Sox. The 33-year-old infielder temporarily stayed in the game before leaving in the sixth inning as Pedro Alvarez took his place in the lineup and Manny Machado shifted from third base to shortstop.

It remains to be seen how the Orioles will handle Hardy’s absence, but it appears likely that utility infielder Ryan Flaherty will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take his place on the 25-man roster. Baltimore could move Machado to shortstop with Flaherty serving as the primary third baseman, but Chris Davis and Pedro Alvarez have also played at the hot corner in the past.

Another option would be 33-year-old infielder Paul Janish, who is currently hitting .318 at Triple-A Norfolk and plays superb defense at shortstop. However, he owns a career .216 average in the majors with a .574 on-base plus slugging percentage in 1,242 plate appearances over seven seasons.

Regardless of what the Orioles decided to do, the injury is a definite blow from both offensive and defensive perspectives.

In other injury-related news, pitching prospect Hunter Harvey is expected to undergo sports hernia surgery this week and will be sidelined for several weeks.

On the positive side, MASN reports that Zach Britton’s left ankle continues to feel better and the All-Star closer could even be available to pitch at some point during the three-game series with the New York Yankees beginning Tuesday night.

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BALTIMORE — The Orioles dropped the finale of a four-game set to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, but greater concern existed after the game regarding the status of J.J. Hardy.

The veteran shortstop fouled a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning and was removed in the top of the sixth as Pedro Alvarez entered the game at third base and Manny Machado shifted to shortstop. Manager Buck Showalter called Hardy’s injury a contusion after the game, but he hinted that the injury could be more serious without delving into specifics.

“I do know; I’ve got an idea,” Showalter said. “Right now, it’s a contusion. He fouled a ball off his foot, and it got real stiff and sore on it quickly, so he’s going to get some more detailed [tests]. I think it’s a scan [Monday] to see the extent of it. They took the X-ray here and they’re going to look at it in the morning.

“There are some things that we want to look at further and make sure that we’ve got our arms around what exactly it is.”

If Hardy were to be sidelined for an extended period of time, the Orioles could summon Ryan Flaherty or Paul Janish — or both — to provide more infield depth. Flaherty was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk last Monday, but he would not need to fulfill the full 10-day requirement to be recalled if Hardy were to go to the 15-day disabled list. The Orioles could elect to play Machado at short with Flaherty at third base in Hardy’s absence as they had a couple times last month.

Another option would be to promote Janish, who is not currently on the 40-man roster but has played well at Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles and Showalter love his defense at shortstop, but he is a career .216 hitter with a .574 on-base plus slugging percentage in 1,242 career plate appearances in the major leagues.

The 33-year-old Hardy is hitting .244 with two home runs, eight RBIs, and a .701 OPS in 22 games this season.

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